Girardi not worried about future with Yankees

Even before A-Rod circus, manager has had to juggle lineups during difficult season

August 06, 2013|By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporter

Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the second inning of his team's game against the White Sox on Tuesday. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

In the final year of a three-year contract, Yankees manager Joe Girardi finds himself awash in a baseball tsunami that could happen only in New York.

His team is fighting to stay in playoff contention despite a slew of injuries that began in the first spring training game, when Curtis Granderson broke his right wrist. His $182 million ace, CC Sabathia, is struggling through the worst year of his career.

And now Girardi has to deal with the Alex Rodriguez circus that has reached another level of absurdity since Rodriguez appealed his 211-game suspension resulting from Major League Baseball's investigation into the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal.

While everyone assumes the Yankees will bring Girardi back with another multiyear deal, he insists it's not on his mind.

"I don't really worry about it," Girardi said. "I figure I'll manage through the year and see where life takes me and what's next. For me to worry about that is silly. I'm a faithful man, and I believe God will put me where he wants me."

Girardi's "dream job" at one point was managing the Cubs. The Peoria native and Northwestern alumnus was interviewed by former general manager Jim Hendry and former President John McDonough after the 2006 season and said going home would be the perfect scenario.

"If you like baseball, you love Wrigley Field, no matter who you are," he told the Tribune. "I loved going to games there as a boy, I loved going there when I was in college and I loved going there as a player. It's just a great place."

Girardi ultimately lost out to Lou Piniella, went to the broadcast booth in 2007, was hired to replace Joe Torre in the Yankees' dugout in 2008 and won a championship in 2009.

But he never has shut the door completely on the idea of someday managing the Cubs, and probably never will.

"When you're a manager, you think about managing where you're at forever," he said. "But you know the reality is that's not always true. You think about a lot of different things."

Cubs manager Dale Sveum is under contract through 2014, with an option year in 2015. Cubs management is satisfied with the job he has done, despite his record, and there's no reason to believe he would be in jeopardy if they don't compete by next summer.

Girardi has followed the Cubs from afar and likes what he has seen of the rebuild.

"I see them developing players," he said. "I hear people talking about the players in the minor leagues, and that's all part of it. It can be frustrating at times, but it seems like they've got some pretty good young players and they're making progress."

The Yankees, of course, are not getting any younger. The hitting is nonexistent, the pitching is spotty and the farm system is not producing. Derek Jeter called the season a "nightmare," and on Tuesday general manager Brian Cashman concurred.

"It's been one for the ages," Cashman said. "It's been one of those difficult years. I've been around a long time and have been doing this a long time, but certainly there's been a lot of extra stuff that you're not necessarily used to dealing with — and that's absent of the Alex stuff.

"I'm talking about the amount of injuries we've had. We just haven't been close to running out our team yet. And the recurrence of injuries and all that stuff, it's just something you've never seen before."

Is Cashman worried?

"Ever since I've been given this job, I've been worried," he replied.

But the Yankees aren't worried about the leadership Girardi has provided, keeping the team in contention despite patchwork lineups without Jeter, Granderson, Mark Teixeira and others.

"The job he did hanging in the first two months with everyone injured was tremendous," said Hendry, now an assistant to Cashman. "And he thrives at dealing with things like this (Rodriguez controversy). He's handled with skill everything with Alex and has the pulse of the clubhouse."

Girardi was forced to dance around the Rodriguez questions Monday and drew some criticism for saying it was not his job to "judge" others. But being diplomatic is second nature to Girardi, who learned at the right hand of Torre, the master of defusing bombshells in the Bronx.

The season "for the ages" is entering crunch time, and if the Yankees are going to make a playoff run, they'd better start soon.

But unlike Cashman, Girardi has never been much of a worrier and isn't about to start now.

"I wish we were in a better position and I think we can play better than we are, and that's frustrating," he said. "But that's the game and you've got to deal with it."